


lightning in a bottle

by LJF



Series: we all want love/we all want honor [14]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Episode: s02e08 The Chase, Firebending & Firebenders, Gen, Hurt, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Lightningbending & Lightningbenders (Avatar), Protective Iroh (Avatar), Protective Sokka (Avatar), Protective Toph Beifong, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Revelations, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Toph Beifong & Zuko Friendship, Toph Beifong Being Awesome, Waterbending & Waterbenders, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJF/pseuds/LJF
Summary: The crazy blue-fire girl was after them, and Zuko had finally reappeared, along with his mystery girlfriend, who was apparently-- wait,what?!(Sleep-deprived Sokka wasreallyconfused, but so was everyone else.)
Relationships: Aang & Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Azula & Toph Beifong, Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Iroh, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: we all want love/we all want honor [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936222
Comments: 16
Kudos: 298





	lightning in a bottle

**Author's Note:**

> Some people, when exhausted, just ignore everything that isn't "how can I get to sleep the fastest?" Others are moody and tempermental, trying to pick fights with everyone around them. And others will maintain a façade of calm until they just _snap_. We all know who's who.
> 
> Guys, I apologize in advance. I'm _really_ bad at writing battle scenes.

_"Even in the dust we shine."_

_\- Bea Miller, "Fire N Gold"_

Sokka was so _done_ with this day that _never_ seemed to end. He just wanted to find someplace relatively comfortable and _sleep_.

But _no_. First they spent all night (and day) flying away from a tank of _dangerous ladies_ , while listening to sleep-deprived Katara get annoyed about anything and everything. Then Aang had flipped out and started yelling at _both_ of them. ( _Rude_. _Sokka_ hadn't been the one insulting his bison-flying skills.) And then it had taken them _way_ too long to realize that the scary girls from Omashu were tracking them because of Appa's shedding.

So then they decided to split up, which, in Sokka's expert opinion, was a _bad idea_ \-- things _always_ went wrong when they split up. (Not that they went that well when they stuck together, either.) But because no one ever actually _listened_ to the _plan guy_ , Aang took off on his glider one way, while Sokka and his sister flew Appa off in another direction.

But somehow, the freaky ladies and their freaky pets (what _were_ those things?) had managed to find them anyways.

 _Wait_ , Sokka thought, _one, two...... weren't there three of them before?_ Knife girl, the girl with the weird punches, and crazy blue-fire girl (who looked _really_ familiar, for some reason). But only the first two were following them-- the firebender had obviously decided to follow Aang's trail.

"New plan," he hissed to Katara, when it became evidence that those weird animals the girls were riding could also _walk on water_. "Take out these two, and then we go find Aang." She nodded, and sent a wave of water..... which the scary ladies somehow managed to avoid.

If he had been less tired, Sokka might have taken the time to appreciate the fact that, despite their lack of bending, the two girls were _seriously_ talented. (He hadn't met any warriors that tough since Kyoshi Island.) Right now, however, they were nothing but obstacles, keeping him from the one thing he wanted most: _sleep_.

They tried. Really, they did. But the two girls (he heard Knifey refer to her pal as "Ty Lee") were just _too_ good.

And that was when their giant, fluffy, equally sleep-deprived savior came to the rescue.

"Aah!" The two girls screamed as they were swept down the river.

"Thanks Appa," he said. "I don't know what we'd do without you." And, of course, since he couldn't move, he got a face full of bison drool.

_Now, to find Aang and scary girl number three._

When they finally reached the deserted town Aang's trail led to, they found him fighting with the firebender. (Okay, seriously, why and _how_ were her flames _blue_?)

As he, Aang, and Katara cornered the girl, he heard a voice behind him.

"Get _up_ , Sparky!" The voice was female, but without seeing her, he couldn't place an age. She didn't _sound_ familiar. "I did not come all this way to listen to _Azula_ take your sorry rear out."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sokka's blood ran cold. That was _Zuko's_ voice. Zuko, who they hadn't seen since the North Pole. (Honestly, he'd been kind of hoping the prince had died in a ditch somewhere, but nothing _ever_ went that easily for them.)

"Saving you, _obviously_ ," the female voice said. "You owe me some answers, _buddy_." Jeez, that tone scared _Sokka_ , and she wasn't even talking to him.

 _I guess Aang was telling the truth about Zuko having a girlfriend._ He'd laughed when the airbender had first mentioned the idea, because it just seemed so preposterous, but the tone that he was hearing was one that could only come from a girlfriend, mom or......

_Sister. That's why this firebender looks so familiar. She must be Zuko's sister!_

"How many royals do these guys have?" Sokka muttered. No one answered.

"Well, look who it is," the princess said, looking behind him. "I wasn't expecting to see _you_ here, Dirt Girl."

"Wish I could say the same, Ice Princess," said the girl, stepping into Sokka's line of sight. "At least I don't actually have to _look_ at you!"

Sokka was _way_ too tired to try to figure this out.

( _Ice Princess?_ )

The girl was short, with dark hair. She wore a green shirt and red pants. As the female firebender shot a blue fire blast in her direction, she raised her arms, and a wall of stone rose to block the flames.

"Wait a second," Sokka said in shock as he ducked away from another of the princess's attacks. "Zuko's girlfriend is an _earthbender_?"

"She is not my _girlfriend_!" Zuko jumped forward, returning his sister's fire.

"Pretty sure it would actually be betrothed or affianced or some other horrible-sounding word," the freaking _earthbender_ said as she moved the dirt to trip Azula up.

_Wait. What?_

"You _do_ realize that we're not _really_ engaged?" Zuko and the new girl were standing right next to each other now, alternating shots as they backed the princess into an alleyway.

"We're not?" The earthbender's voice had an amused tilt to it, and Sokka realized that she was _teasing_ the scarred boy. "That betrothal ceremony felt pretty _real_ to me. What do you think, Azula?"

"I wouldn't know," the firebending girl ( _Azula?_ ) said. " _I_ wasn't invited."

"What is happening right now?" Sokka hissed at Katara. She shrugged. Aang, meanwhile, was staring at the earthbender as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Oof!" Just then, Azula backed right into an old man Sokka recognized.

"Uncle!" Zuko's voice sounded.... not quite _happy_ , but at the very least, _grateful_.

Together (and who'd have thought _together_ would include _Zuko_?) the six of them backed their mutual enemy into a corner.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together," Azula said, raising her hands. "I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Zuko's girlfriend ( _fiancée?_ ) snorted, turning to the old man as if to say _can you believe this?_

Sokka saw how Azula's eyes narrowed as she stared at something near the tiny girl's neck. Before he could blink, she twisted and shot a bolt of-- was that _lightning?_ No one had told him firebenders could do that!-- directly at the earthbender's heart.

Zuko and his uncle yelled, and the four benders blasted Azula in unison.

When the smoke cleared, Azula was gone.

The two firebenders knelt next to the tiny girl, who suddenly looked _fragile_. Zuko groaned in frustration, covering his face, while the old man inspected the wound.

"Get away from us!" The scarred teenager seemed to realize that they were still there.

"Zuko, I can help!" Sokka's sister reached for her waterskin, clearly hesitant to leave an injured girl like this, whoever her friends were.

" _Leave!_ " Zuko yelled, raising his arms as though to shoot more fire at them.

"Prince Zuko!" The old man held a hand up in front of his nephew. "This is no time for your stubborn pride! A waterbending healer is what Lady Toph _needs_ right now."

That name sounded familiar. Why did it sound familiar?

_I am way too tired for this._

"Please," Zuko's uncle said, looking to Katara. "Heal her."

Katara nodded, walking towards the girl and opening her waterskin. She coated her hands and placed them over the tiny figure's chest, where Sokka could see a tiny glint of something shiny.

 _Metal!_ Sokka remembered the mechanist telling him what happened to metal in a thunderstorm. _That can't be pleasant._

"I think she's going to be okay," Katara was saying. "I don't think that lightning bolt was meant to kill, just stun her for a while. Let her rest for a few hours, and she should be fine."

"Thank you," the old man said, wrapping an arm around his nephew, who was still staring down at the earthbender with an expression of shock and horror. "Thank you."

"Alright," Sokka said when they finally reached a place they could make camp. "Everybody get some sleep."

But even as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder about Zuko and the earthbender. _How on earth did_ that _happen?_

_"There is something different about you and I."_

_\- Bea Miller, "Fire N Gold"_

**Author's Note:**

> Well, _that_ ending surprised even _me_! I was rewatching "The Chase," and I realized that the only reason Azula managed to shoot Iroh was because Toph's presence distracted him. Obviously that wouldn't be the case here. And while Toph might be wary of Azula, she doesn't know that Azula can shoot lightning, which is _a lot_ faster than a regular fire blast. (Especially since Toph's wearing a _metal_ pendant Azula could focus the lightning on.)
> 
> Things different characters learnt in this chapter:  
> Azula discovered that Toph is traveling with Zuko and Iroh. ( _Between the Emotion and the Response_ Azula, who makes it her business to know everything, and has an elite team of spies all over the world who keep her informed of anything even potentially important that happens anywhere, would have known that already. But _canon_ Azula, who couldn't recognize the Avatar with a hat on, wouldn't have spared a second thought about Toph since Azulon's death and Ursa's disappearance.)  
> Aang, Sokka, and Katara discovered that the mysterious girl traveling with Zuko is an earthbender. However, Sokka and Katara still haven't realized that this is the same girl Aang had a vision of, or who Poppy asked about. (They also don't know that she's blind.) Aang, on the other hand, obviously does, and is now trying to put together the pieces of _what exactly happened_. He's kind of confused.  
> It's important to remember, though, that _nobody except Zuko and Iroh_ knows about the metalbending.
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](f613.tumblr.com)!


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